Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.078 August 9, 1995 1) Korn's _A nay kleyd_ (Shleyme Axelrod) 2) _A New Dress_ (Judith Nysenholc) 3) Feldsher (Dan Leeson) 4) Yiddish in translation (Hershl Hartman) 5) Yiddish tapes and in translation (Miriam Isaacs) 6) _The Messiah Text_ (Renee Miller) 7) Isaac Bashevis Singer (David Herskovic) 8) Makh a fayg (Dovid Moishe Goldstein) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 08 Aug 1995 11:00:18 -0400 (EDT) From: ptyaxel@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu Subject: Korn's _A nay kleyd_ The poem Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan is looking for is _A nay kleyd_, by Rokhl Korn. It is included by Ruth Whitman, together with her translation, in her excellent _An anthology of modern Yiddish poetry_, New York: October House, 1966. A nay kleyd Ikh hob zikh ongetun haynt, tsum ershtn mol nokh zibn lange yor a nay kleyd. Nor s'iz tsu kurts far mayn troyer un tsu eng far mayn layd, un s'iz a yeder vays-glezerner knop, vi a trer, vos flist fun di faldn arop farshteynert un shver. Shleyme Axelrod Buffalo, NY 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1995 10:20:13 -0500 From: jnysenho@students.wisc.edu Subject: _A New Dress_ The poem that Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan is thinking of is "A New Dress" ("A nay kleyd," 1947) by Rakhel Korn. It can be found in _An Anthology of Modern Yiddish Poetry_ (bilingual edition), selected by Ruth Whitman, edited by the Workmen's Circle (1979). Judith Nysenholc Madison, Wisconsin 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 08 Aug 1995 09:57:09 EDT From: leeson@aspen.fhda.edu Subject: Feldsher I know that the term "feldsher" describes a person who had some medical duties but I would like to know exactly what it was a person with such a descriptive name was trained to do. I have several family members who are identified only as "Ephraim der feldsher" and I am attempting to understand what it was that they did both in training and in practice to earn this title. Was it professional or casual? One final item regarding this name: I have never heard the term used as describing anyone not from Lithuania. That is, my Polish ancestors not only never described someone this way, they looked at me strangely when I asked, almost as if the term were foreign to them. Was this a geographically distinctive name? Dan Leeson Los Altos, California 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 14:53:56 -0400 From: hershl@aol.com Subject: Yiddish in translation In regard to Morrie Feller's request (Vol 5.077) for evidence that access to the riches of Yiddish culture stimulates interest in the language, I'd suggest that many of the participants in Mendele who have a limited language knowledge were originally attracted by one or another aspect of Yiddish culture. It would be interesting to have a (decidedly unscientific) survey on the question among Mendelyaner whose Yiddish knowledge stems largely from courses or self-study. What first attracted them to Yiddish? My own personal experience as a secular Jewish educator for over three decades led to my assertion. Countless adults with whom I've worked have been delighted with/inspired by a translated Yiddish poem, a Yiddish song or story and have (a) bemoaned the fact that so little of our culture was available to them as they grew up and (b) taken steps to learn Yiddish--or, at least, more than they knew to begin with. A single example: the Sholem Community Organization in Los Angeles established a Yiddish Chorus some years ago because the Yiddish songs in translation sung as part of our holiday observances attracted some community members. Only two of the chorus members knew any Yiddish. Its performances are a model of clear, accurate Yiddish diction that has delighted audiences, including those of its debut on local public television. (Their singing, itself, is tam ganeydn--nor nit dos bin ikh oysn.) As the folk wisdom puts it: a bisl un a bisl makht a fule shisl. (A tittle and a jot fills up the pot.) Hershl Hartman 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 22:03:14 -0400 (EDT) From: miriamis@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu Subject: Yiddish tapes and in translation Regarding Morrie Feller's question about the relationship between accessibility to oral/aural literature - on tape- as a possible inhibitor to learning to read a language, research in second language acquisition really does substantiate that developing a love for oral language will increase the likelihood of acquiring literacy in a language. It will not be a guarantee of reading, but preventing the taped literature out is negative and there are enough barriers, practical and social weighing against Yiddish. The hard line will only create another barrier. There are so many reasons for people not to learn to read Yiddish that unless there are strong motivating factors like appreciation, love, curiosity, they will not make the effort. So I, myself, am eager to hear these tapes and use them for teaching oral comprehension. Yiddish has been known to be a spoken language as well and Sholem Aleichem's tales are told as if they were to be spoken anyhow. Miriam Isaacs 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Aug 1995 16:00:53 -0700 (PDT) From: remiller@netcom.com Subject: _The Messiah Text_ I am looking for _The Messiah Text_ by Raphael Patai. I have no further info on the publisher or date. During the summer Yiddish course at Columbia/YIVO where I was a student, we read the first act of Peretz' "Di Goldene Kayt". I found my lack of information on folklore and references to the Messiah frustrating. Dr Avrom Novershtern suggested this book as a source of information. I am having difficulty locating a copy. I would greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance Renee Miller New York City 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 08 Aug 95 19:31:12 EDT From: 100114.750@compuserve.com Subject: Isaac Bashevis Singer I address the following question out of ignorance of the positive rather than intelligence of the negative. Why is it that I get the impression that Issac Bashevis Singer is not as revered among yidishisten as he is in the wider world? As I mentioned in my opening I have heard nothing disparaging or adverse about him or his writing to confirm my suspicions. However, I nevertheless get a feeling that apart from him not being considered as one of the Greats he is not even awarded his due place as a leading contemporary yidishist. Is it perhaps that he is considered tzu a groyse apikoyres even for those brought up on Peretz and the like (nisht mistaber!) or is there a different reason behind it. Or maybe I have simply got it wrong! David Herskovic 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 08 Aug 95 22:29:49 EDT From: 73051.2257@compuserve.com Subject: Makh a fayg - repeat I'm trying to find the source and story about a little child who is advised by a parent to "makh a fayg" whenever he is frightened by a bad person or circumstance. A dank aykh ale. Dorian (Dovid Moishe) Goldstein ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.078